Will Pacio and the Case for Leaning Into the Gig Economy

Will Pacio, a restaurant industry veteran, started his career as a chef. He attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City and in 2004 landed a spot on the line at chef Thomas Keller’s flagship restaurant, The French Laundry, in California. He spent five years with the restaurant group, working both as a cook and as an IT manager. In 2010 he opened his own fast-casual concept, Spice Kit. 

After expanding to several locations, Pacio started to feel the strain that staffing could have on restaurant owners. “I was understaffed all the time—I was ringing people up behind the register or while in the kitchen making orders. That was really the lightbulb moment,” said Pacio on his inspiration for creating Pared, an app that allows restaurants to staff temporary, on-call employees from a network of available talent, much like calling an Uber driver or using a dog-walking app. “Craigslist, Indeed or job boards were really the only way to find restaurant staff at the time. It’s a slow process, and you really don’t get many qualified people.”

Restaurants in the franchising space have been feeling the impact of what has been labeled as a “talent crisis” for years, combating high turnover rates with tech innovations and perks like tuition coverage, raises and more. Pacio went on to say that even in an adequately staffed restaurant, an employee calling out sick could throw a wrench in an entire day’s operations. “When someone gets sick or suddenly quits, it can be really difficult to manage,” said Pacio. “There are also those times that you host private parties, an event brings in an influx of business or you’re busier than normal and you need to staff up for a day or two.”

For restaurateurs, two of the prime costs are food and labor. “You can really optimize your labor costs by turning that fixed cost into a variable cost,” said Pacio. “On Pared, you can book someone for exactly the amount of hours you need.”

On the other side of the equation, as a cook himself, Pacio spoke on how Pared can benefit the laborers as well. “When you’re a cook, you’re often working two to three jobs at a time to make ends meet. All of those jobs are on a fixed schedule without a day off,” said Pacio. “This is a way for people to work one full-time job, but have the option to flexibly pick up shifts and earn some extra money as needed.”

Pacio went on to explain why the gig work is so essential to the workforce right now. “On a macro level—especially in major cities—the cost of living has gone up,” said Pacio. “That has a couple effects. From a workforce perspective, people are moving further from the city centers into more affordable housing. Pared allows restaurateurs to find people nearby who would otherwise not be available.” This has an impact on business owners as well. “Because the cost of living has gone up, it's just harder to run a business. Labor costs are one of the things that business owners have had limited control over, until now.”

While Pacio’s background is in fine dining, he says that Pared is used by Michelin-star restaurants and local McDonald’s franchisees alike. Pared currently operates in San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., but is looking to expand to other major cities as the need for flexible labor grows. In the coming months and years, it is likely we will see more and more apps like Pared popping up across more and more industries to solve labor dilemmas that owners in the franchise space often face.